One of the cheapest ways to reduce CO2 emissions is thermal renovation of existing homes. Germany is a world leader in this project, with a strict building code, generous state subsidies, and an advanced renovation infrastructure. The effects of its policies are explored here in the light of...

German state subsidies for photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation now amount to over 200 million euros per month. Yet PV in Germany is only 30% as economically efficient as wind power, while up to 19 times as much energy would be saved if the same funds were used to thermally renovate homes....

Sub-national governments are now seen as having an important role to play in climate protection. Initial research in this area sought to identify their initiatives in climate change mitigation and theorize their role in relation to national and international climate protection policies. Because...

High humidity can lead to condensation and mould formation if a house is well sealed and indoor temperatures fall significantly during the night. Solutions that have been offered are to keep heaters on throughout the night, to increase the thickness of insulation, or to install heat-exchange...

Discourse theories offer a penetrating approach to environmental policy analysis, as they focus on the interpretive worlds produced in policy actors' utterances and writings, and the argumentative struggles that lead to one view dominating over others in a policy domain. However they fail to...

Rebound effects have been historically studied through narrow framings which may overlook the complexity of sustainability challenges, sometimes leading to badly informed conclusions and policy recommendations. Here we present a critical literature review of rebound effects in the context of...